When charged particles moving faster than light travel in, for example, water, they perturb the energy equilibrium of the atoms that are in their way. In order to regain equilibrium, those atoms release photons – the types of particles that compose visible light, creating a “shock-wave” of visible light.
That's like the vaguest description of anything ever. Is physics a stealth startup?
Why does it specifically happen when particles travel faster than light in a given medium? There's no glow for particles moving slower?
Sonic boom doesn't explain what causes sound only how it piles up.
Similarily I don't see how it explains the glow. Photons get generated regardless of whether they pile up or not. It's a consequence of particles bumping into atoms not the whatever speed of light might be in this medium.
Very shortly summarized, only if the particle is faster than the local speed of light, you get constructive interference between many atoms that were polarized by the moving particle.
For a slower than light particle, you also get emission, but it is completely random and thus does not give the well defined emission in a cone of Cherenkov radiation.
For a faster than light particle, the spherical suddenly line up to form a cone:
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That's like the vaguest description of anything ever. Is physics a stealth startup?
Why does it specifically happen when particles travel faster than light in a given medium? There's no glow for particles moving slower?
I think a common analogy is that this is a bit like the sonic boom when something travels faster than sound in that medium.
Sonic boom doesn't explain what causes sound only how it piles up.
Similarily I don't see how it explains the glow. Photons get generated regardless of whether they pile up or not. It's a consequence of particles bumping into atoms not the whatever speed of light might be in this medium.
How is piling up important?
Very shortly summarized, only if the particle is faster than the local speed of light, you get constructive interference between many atoms that were polarized by the moving particle.
For a slower than light particle, you also get emission, but it is completely random and thus does not give the well defined emission in a cone of Cherenkov radiation.
For a faster than light particle, the spherical suddenly line up to form a cone:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation#/media/Fil...
Thank you. That's a very good explanation.